CHAPTER 4.1
ORGANIC WASTE DISPOSAL REDUCTION1
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS
SECTION:
§4380.0 DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this chapter and as used herein, certain abbreviations, terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall be construed and shall have the meaning and be defined as hereinafter provided in this article.
A. "Blue container" has the same meaning as in 14 CCR Section 18982.2(a)(5) and shall be used for the purpose of storage and collection of source separated recyclable materials or source separated blue container organic waste.
B. "CalRecycle" means California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, which is the department designated with responsibility for developing, implementing, and enforcing SB 1383 regulations on local agencies (and others).
C. "California Code of Regulations" or "CCR" means the State of California Code of Regulations. CCR references in this chapter are preceded with a number that refers to the relevant title of the CCR (e.g., "14 CCR" refers to Title 14 of CCR).
D. "Commercial business" or "commercial" means a firm, partnership, proprietorship, joint-stock company, corporation, or association, whether for-profit or nonprofit, strip mall, industrial facility, or a multifamily residential dwelling, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(6). A multifamily residential dwelling that consists of fewer than five (5) units is not a commercial business for purposes of implementing this chapter.
E. "Commercial edible food generator" includes a tier one or a tier two commercial edible food generator as defined in subsections KKK and LLL of this section or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Sections 18982(a)(73) and (a)(74). For the purposes of this definition, food recovery organizations and food recovery services are not commercial edible food generators pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7).
F. "Compliance review" means a review of records by the City to determine compliance with this chapter.
G. "Community composting" means any activity that composts green material, agricultural material, food material, and vegetative food material, alone or in combination, and the total amount of feedstock and compost on site at any one time does not exceed one hundred (100) cubic yards and seven hundred fifty (750) square feet, as specified in 14 CCR Section 17855(a)(4); or as otherwise defined by 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(8).
H. "Compost" has the same meaning as in 14 CCR Section 17896.2(a)(4), which stated, as of the effective date of this chapter, that "compost" means the product resulting from the controlled biological decomposition of organic solid wastes that are source separated from the municipal solid waste stream, or which are separated at a centralized facility.
I. "Compostable plastics" or "compostable plastic" means plastic materials that meet the ASTM D6400 standard for compostability, or as otherwise described in 14 CCR Section 18984.1(a)(1)(A) or 18984.2(a)(1)(C).
J. "Container contamination" or "contaminated container" means a container, regardless of color, that contains prohibited container contaminants, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(55).
K. "C&D" means construction and demolition debris.
L. "Designee" means an entity that the City contracts with or otherwise arranges to carry out any of the City’s responsibilities of this chapter as authorized in 14 CCR Section 18981.2. A designee may be a government entity, a hauler, a private entity, or a combination of those entities.
M. "Edible food" means food intended for human consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18). For the purposes of this chapter or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18), "edible food" is not solid waste if it is recovered and not discarded. Nothing in this chapter or in 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 requires or authorizes the recovery of edible food that does not meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.
N. "Enforcement action" means an action of the City to address noncompliance with this chapter including, but not limited to, issuing administrative citations, fines, penalties, or using other remedies.
O. "Excluded waste" means hazardous substance, hazardous waste, infectious waste, designated waste, volatile, corrosive, medical waste, infectious, regulated radioactive waste, and toxic substances or material that facility operator(s), which receive materials from the City and its generators, reasonably believe(s) would, as a result of or upon acceptance, transfer, processing, or disposal, be a violation of local, State, or Federal law, regulation, or chapter, including: land use restrictions or conditions, waste that cannot be disposed of in Class III landfills or accepted at the facility by permit conditions, waste that in the City’s, or its designee’s, reasonable opinion would present a significant risk to human health or the environment, cause a nuisance or otherwise create or expose the City, or its designee, to potential liability; but not including de minimis volumes or concentrations of waste of a type and amount normally found in single-family or multifamily solid waste after implementation of programs for the safe collection, processing, recycling, treatment, and disposal of batteries and paint in compliance with Sections 41500 and 41802 of the California Public Resources Code.
P. "Food distributor" means a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, supermarkets and grocery stores, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(22).
Q. "Food facility" has the same meaning as in Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code.
R. "Food recovery" means actions to collect and distribute food for human consumption that otherwise would be disposed, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(24).
S. "Food recovery organization" means an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of edible food from commercial edible food generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery either directly or through other entities or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(25), including, but not limited to:
1. A food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the Health and Safety Code;
2. A nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the Health and Safety Code; and
3. A nonprofit charitable temporary food facility as defined in Section 113842 of the Health and Safety Code.
A food recovery organization is not a commercial edible food generator for the purposes of this chapter and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7).
T. "Food recovery service" means a person or entity that collects and transports edible food from a commercial edible food generator to a food recovery organization or other entities for food recovery, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(26). A food recovery service is not a commercial edible food generator for the purposes of this chapter and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7).
U. "Food scraps" means all food such as, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish, bones, rice, beans, pasta, bread, cheese, and eggshells. "Food scraps" excludes fats, oils, and grease when such materials are source separated from other food scraps.
V. "Food service provider" means an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(27).
W. "Food-soiled paper" is compostable paper material that has come in contact with food or liquid, such as, but not limited to, compostable paper plates, paper coffee cups, napkins, pizza boxes, and milk cartons.
X. "Food waste" means food scraps and food-soiled paper.
Y. "Gray container" has the same meaning as in 14 CCR Section 18982.2(a)(28) and shall be used for the purpose of storage and collection of gray container waste.
Z. "Gray container waste" means solid waste that is collected in a gray container that is part of a three (3) container organic waste collection service that prohibits the placement of organic waste in the gray container as specified in 14 CCR Sections 18984.1(a) and (b), or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 17402(a)(6.5).
AA. "Green container" has the same meaning as in 14 CCR Section 18982.2(a)(29) and shall be used for the purpose of storage and collection of source separated green container organic waste.
BB. "Grocery store" means a store primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food; dry goods; fresh fruits and vegetables; fresh meats, fish, and poultry; and any area that is not separately owned within the store where the food is prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood departments, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(30).
CC. "Hauler route" means the designated itinerary or sequence of stops for each segment of the City’s collection service area, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(31.5).
DD. "Inspection" means a site visit where the City reviews records, containers, and an entity’s collection, handling, recycling, or landfill disposal of organic waste or edible food handling to determine if the entity is complying with requirements set forth in this chapter, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(35).
EE. "City Enforcement Official" means the City Manager, County administrative official, chief operating officer, executive director, or other executive in charge or their authorized designee(s) who is/are partially or wholly responsible for enforcing this chapter. See also "regional or County agency enforcement official."
FF. "Large event" means an event, including, but not limited to, a sporting event or a flea market, that charges an admission price, or is operated by a local agency, and serves an average of more than two thousand (2,000) individuals per day of operation of the event, at a location that includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned park, parking lot, golf course, street system, or other open space when being used for an event. If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(38) differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(38) shall apply to this chapter.
GG. "Large venue" means a permanent venue facility that annually seats or serves an average of more than two thousand (2,000) individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation of the venue facility. For purposes of this chapter and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12, a venue facility includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned or operated stadium, amphitheater, arena, hall, amusement park, conference or civic center, zoo, aquarium, airport, racetrack, horse track, performing arts center, fairground, museum, theater, or other public attraction facility. For purposes of this chapter and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12, a site under common ownership or control that includes more than one large venue that is contiguous with other large venues in the site is a single large venue. If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(39) differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(39) shall apply to this chapter.
HH. "Local education agency" means a school district, charter school, or County office of education that is not subject to the control of City or County regulations related to solid waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(40).
II. "Multifamily residential dwelling" or "multifamily" means of, from, or pertaining to residential premises with five (5) or more dwelling units. Multifamily premises do not include hotels, motels, or other transient occupancy facilities, which are considered commercial businesses.
JJ. "Noncompostable paper" includes but is not limited to paper that is coated in a plastic material that will not break down in the composting process, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(41).
KK. "Nonlocal entity" means the following entities that are not subject to the jurisdiction’s enforcement authority, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(42):
1. Special district(s) located within the boundaries of the jurisdiction.
2. County fairgrounds located within the boundaries of the City.
3. State agencies located within the boundaries of the jurisdiction.
LL. "Nonorganic recyclables" means nonputrescible and nonhazardous recyclable wastes including but not limited to bottles, cans, metals, plastics and glass, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(43).
MM. "Notice of violation (NOV)" means a notice that a violation has occurred that includes a compliance date to avoid an action to seek penalties, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(45) or further explained in 14 CCR Section 18995.4.
NN. "Organic waste" means solid wastes containing material originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products, including but not limited to food, green material, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, manure, biosolids, digestate, and sludges or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(46). Biosolids and digestate are as defined by 14 CCR Section 18982(a).
OO. "Organic waste generator" means a person or entity that is responsible for the initial creation of organic waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(48).
PP. "Paper products" include, but are not limited to, paper janitorial supplies, cartons, wrapping, packaging, file folders, hanging files, corrugated boxes, tissue, and toweling, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(51).
QQ. "Printing and writing papers" include, but are not limited to, copy, xerographic, watermark, cotton fiber, offset, forms, computer printout paper, white wove envelopes, manila envelopes, book paper, note pads, writing tablets, newsprint, and other uncoated writing papers, posters, index cards, calendars, brochures, reports, magazines, and publications, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(54).
RR. "Prohibited container contaminants" means the following: (1) discarded materials placed in the blue container that are not identified as acceptable source separated recyclable materials for the jurisdiction’s blue container; (2) discarded materials placed in the green container that are not identified as acceptable source separated green container organic waste for the jurisdiction’s green container; (3) discarded materials placed in the gray container that are acceptable source separated recyclable materials and/or source separated green container organic wastes to be placed in jurisdiction’s green container and/or blue container; and (4) excluded waste placed in any container.
SS. "Recovered organic waste products" means products made from California, landfill-diverted recovered organic waste processed in a permitted or otherwise authorized facility, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(60).
TT. "Recovery" means any activity or process described in 14 CCR Section 18983.1(b), or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(49).
UU. "Recycled-content paper" means paper products and printing and writing paper that consists of at least thirty percent (30%), by fiber weight, postconsumer fiber, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(61).
VV. "Regional agency" means regional agency as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40181.
WW. "Regional or County agency enforcement official" means a regional or County agency enforcement official, designated by the City with responsibility for enforcing this chapter in conjunction or consultation with the City Enforcement Official. The City may opt not to designate a regional or County agency enforcement official.
XX. "Renewable gas" means gas derived from organic waste that has been diverted from a California landfill and processed at an in-vessel digestion facility that is permitted or otherwise authorized by 14 CCR to recycle organic waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(62).
YY. "Restaurant" means an establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale of food and drinks for on-premises or immediate consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(64).
ZZ. "Route review" means a visual inspection of containers along a hauler route for the purpose of determining container contamination, and may include mechanical inspection methods such as the use of cameras, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(65).
AAA. "SB 1383" means Senate Bill 1383 of 2016 approved by the Governor on September 19, 2016, which added Sections 39730.5, 39730.6, 39730.7, and 39730.8 to the Health and Safety Code, and added Chapter 13.1 (commencing with Section 42652) to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, establishing methane emissions reduction targets in a Statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants as amended, supplemented, superseded, and replaced from time to time.
BBB. "SB 1383 regulations" or "SB 1383 regulatory" means or refers to, for the purposes of this chapter, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants: Organic Waste Reduction regulations developed by CalRecycle and adopted in 2020 that created 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 and amended portions of regulations of 14 and 27 CCR.
CCC. "Self-hauler" means a person who hauls solid waste, organic waste or recyclable material he or she has generated to another person. "Self-hauler" also includes a person who back-hauls waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(66). "Back-haul" means generating and transporting organic waste to a destination owned and operated by the generator using the generator’s own employees and equipment, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(66)(A).
DDD. "Single-family" means of, from, or pertaining to any residential premises with fewer than five (5) units.
EEE. "Solid waste" has the same meaning as defined in State Public Resources Code section 40191, which defines solid waste as all putrescible and nonputrescible solid, semisolid, and liquid wastes, including garbage, trash, refuse, paper, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles and parts thereof, discarded home and industrial appliances, dewatered, treated, or chemically fixed sewage sludge which is not hazardous waste, manure, vegetable or animal solid and semi-solid wastes, and other discarded solid and semisolid wastes, with the exception that solid waste does not include any of the following wastes:
1. Hazardous waste, as defined in State Public Resources Code section 40141.
2. Radioactive waste regulated pursuant to the State Radiation Control Law (Chapter 8 (commencing with section 114960) of Part 9 of Division 104 of the State Health and Safety Code).
3. Medical waste regulated pursuant to the State Medical Waste Management Act (Part 14 (commencing with section 117600) of Division 104 of the State Health and Safety Code). Untreated medical waste shall not be disposed of in a solid waste landfill, as defined in State Public Resources Code section 40195.1. Medical waste that has been treated and deemed to be solid waste shall be regulated pursuant to Division 30 of the State Public Resources Code.
FFF. "Source separated" means materials, including commingled recyclable materials, that have been separated or kept separate from the solid waste stream, at the point of generation, for the purpose of additional sorting or processing those materials for recycling or reuse in order to return them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw material for new, reused, or reconstituted products, which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the marketplace, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 17402.5(b)(4). For the purposes of this chapter, "source separated" shall include separation of materials by the generator, property owner, property owner’s employee, property manager, or property manager’s employee into different containers for the purpose of collection such that source separated materials are separated from gray container waste or other solid waste for the purposes of collection and processing.
GGG. "Source separated blue container organic waste" means source separated organic wastes that can be placed in a blue container that is limited to the collection of those organic wastes and nonorganic recyclables as defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(43), or as otherwise defined by 14 CCR Section 17402(a)(18.7).
HHH. "Source separated green container organic waste" means source separated organic waste that can be placed in a green container that is specifically intended for the separate collection of organic waste by the generator, excluding source separated blue container organic waste, carpets, noncompostable paper, and textiles.
III. "Source separated recyclable materials" means source separated nonorganic recyclables and source separated blue container organic waste.
JJJ. "State" means the State of California.
KKK. "Supermarket" means a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two million dollars ($2,000,000.00), or more, and which sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(71).
LLL. "Tier one commercial edible food generator" means a commercial edible food generator that is one of the following:
1. Supermarket.
2. Grocery store with a total facility size equal to or greater than ten thousand (10,000) square feet.
3. Food service provider.
4. Food distributor.
5. Wholesale food vendor.
If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(73) of tier one commercial edible food generator differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(73) shall apply to this chapter.
MMM. "Tier two commercial edible food generator" means a commercial edible food generator that is one of the following:
1. Restaurant with two hundred fifty (250) or more seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than five thousand (5,000) square feet.
2. Hotel with an on-site food facility and two hundred (200) or more rooms.
3. Health facility with an on-site food facility and one hundred (100) or more beds.
4. Large venue.
5. Large event.
6. A State agency with a cafeteria with two hundred fifty (250) or more seats or total cafeteria facility size equal to or greater than five thousand (5,000) square feet.
7. A local education agency facility with an on-site food facility.
If the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(74) of tier two commercial edible food generator differs from this definition, the definition in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(74) shall apply to this chapter.
NNN. "Uncontainerized green waste and yard waste collection service" or "uncontainerized service" means a collection service that collects green waste and yard waste that is placed in a pile or bagged for collection on the street in front of a generator’s house or place of business for collection and transport to a facility that recovers source separated organic waste, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 189852(a)(75).
OOO. "Wholesale food vendor" means a business or establishment engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of food, where food (including fruits and vegetables) is received, shipped, stored, prepared for distribution to a retailer, warehouse, distributor, or other destination, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 189852(a)(76). (Ord. 1221, §2, adopted 2022; Ord. 1233, §1, adopted 2023)
Code reviser’s note: Ord. 1221 adds these provisions as Sections 4450.0 through 4450.7. The provisions have been renumbered to Sections 4380.0 through 4380.7 to preserve the numerical order of the code.